I’ve been doing research on bipolar disorder for the past few weeks, and it’s given me a more comprehensive understanding of this mental illness.
There is one point that I discussed with tutor sasha Before:
because bipolar disorder can stimulate the desire to create. Throughout history, there have been many artists with bipolar disorder who have been very gifted in their creative endeavours. So could I look into how to combine bipolar disorder and creativity.
But sasha’s advice is that not all people with bipolar disorder are creative, so you can’t generalise and tell everyone in this group is a genius and talented.
Inspiration from Madness and civilization
I read a book called Madness and Civilization, and I still find the idea that bipolar disorder stimulates creativity interesting.
In Madness and Civilization, it said: the connection between madness and art reveals a complex duality: on one hand, it represents a fusion of irrationality and creativity, making madness a source of artistic inspiration in certain historical periods; on the other hand, as society increasingly valued reason and order, madness became isolated, and art gradually distanced itself from it. Through this historical analysis, Foucault shows how art and madness, in confronting a rational society, together expressed a longing and rebellion for freedom and otherness.
Some summaries from this book
During the Renaissance, the mad were gradually marginalized, but society began to associate them with art and creativity, viewing them as irrational yet full of potential. Both the mad and artists were seen as capable of breaking conventions, entering a freer and more chaotic realm, and expressing an alternative understanding of the world.
In the works of artists like Van Gogh and Goya, madness became a powerful tool to express inner pain and societal oppression.
This aesthetic of madness not only conveyed the personal struggles of the artists but also challenged the social order of the time.
However, with the arrival of the Enlightenment, the connection between madness and art gradually disintegrated. Enlightenment thought, centered on reason and science, excluded irrationality from mainstream values, and madness came to be seen as a “disease” that needed correction.
Art, in this process, also became increasingly rationalized, bound by social and cultural rules. The mad were no longer seen as symbols of art but were instead isolated in mental institutions, becoming subjects of medical and social control.
My thoughts
I wondered if I could tell patients in my visual work that many more talented artists in the world suffer from this mental illness, and encourage them to use creativity as an outlet to release their pain. I see this as a positive aspect of this disease and perhaps encouraging patients to utilise bipolar disorder.
But when I did more research on these types of artists. It was found that many artists often choose not to take their medication in order to keep having a high level of creative inspiration. This is actually a very dangerous way to go.
At the same time, Jesminka suggested that I focus on my TARGET AUDIENCE, because I mentioned that this visual work is for the PUBLIC, and I hope that people will be more aware of this mental illness.
So this CREATIVELY direction didn’t work.
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